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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC09-398 Alison Casias AgreementAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF COLORADO AND ALISON CASIAS, ESQ. SPECIAL COUNTY ATTORNEY ~- .- THIS AGREEMENT is made this day of ~~ ~ , 2009, by and between the County of Eagle, State of Colorado, a body corporate and politic, by and through its Board of County Commissioners ("County"), and Alison Casias, Esq. ("Contractor"). WITNESSETH: Whereas, County, through its Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS"), works to promote the health, safety and welfare of County residents of all ages; and Whereas, among the services County provides in order to promote such health, safety and welfare are adult and child protection services; and Whereas, the use of outside providers of such services enhances the ability of the County to promote such health, safety and welfare; and Whereas, Contractor is a provider of legal services related to adult and child protection matters and wishes to contract with County to provide such services to the County in need thereof. Now, therefore, in consideration of the foregoing premises and the following promises, County and Contractor enter into this Agreement. I. TERM This Agreement shall commence on r i~= , 2009 and shall end on December 31, 2009. Such term shall renew a omatically for successive one year terms under the same conditions as stated herein unless either party has notified the other that they will not be extending the agreement. Such notification shall be made at least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the then existing term. Nothing herein shall reduce the County's discretion as set forth in Article V. hereunder. II. SCOPE A. Contractor accepts the position of Special County Attorney for, and only for, the purposes specifically enumerated in this Agreement, and in all proceedings hereunder she shall appear as counsel for County Health & Human Services, ("HHS") acting as Special County Attorney for Eagle County, Colorado. B. County agrees to purchase, and Contractor agrees to provide, services to County for cases coming under the jurisdiction of County pursuant to Title 19 of Colorado Revised Statutes, the Colorado Children's Code, as amended, that require7egal determinations, as well as any advice, counsel, or other representation relating to the normal operation of the County Child Protection Unit, including initiation of lawsuits for County for establishment of amounts due it. In addition, services will be provided as County may require for Adult Protective Services, such as conservatorship and guardianship proceedings. ~~`~-~~~ III. COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT County agrees to purchase, and Contractor- agrees to provide, up to 416 hours of annual attorney services related to Child Dependency and Neglect matters, Adult Protective services, Foster Care Fee Establishment, and monthly case review with HHS staff at a flat fee rate of $4,000 per month. Contractor will not be paid for more than 416 hours per calendar year without the prior written permission of the Director of HHS. County also agrees to reimburse Contractor for transportation costs reasonably and necessarily incurred in the provision of the above services at a rate of $.50 per mile, up to a maximum of $1,000.00. The maximum amount of fees and transportation costs under this contract is $49,000.00. Reimbursement of expenses in addition to the above-described fees and expenses will be limited to actual costs reasonably and necessarily incurred, such as filing fees, service of process, and court transcripts. Mileage reports must specify date and miles. Billings will be paid through County's usual bill paying process. IV: PROHIBITIONS ON PUBLIC CONTRACT FOR SERVICES If Contractor has any employees or subcontractors, Contractor shall comply with C.R.S. § 8-17.5-101, et .seq., regarding lllegal Aliens -Public Contracts for Services, and this Contract. By execution of this Contract, Contractor certifies that she does not knowingly employ or contract with an illegal alien who will perform under this Contract and that Contractor will participate in the E-verify Program or other Department of Labor and Employment program ("Department Program") in order to confirm the eligibility of all employees who are newly hired for employment to perform work under this Contract. A. Contractor shall not: (i) Knowingly employ or contract with an illegal alien to perform work under this contract for services; or (ii) Enter into a contract with a subcontractor that fails to certify to the Contractor that the subcontractor shall not knowingly employ or contract with an illegal alien to perform work under the public contract for services. B. Contractor has confirmed the employment eligibility of all employees who are newly hired for employment to perform work under this Contract through participation in the E-verify Program or Department Program, as administered by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Information on applying for the E-verify program can be found at: http://www.dhs.Qov/xprevprot/pro ~r~s/~c 1 185221678150.shtm C. The Contractor shall not use either the E-verify program or other Department Program procedures to undertake pre-employment screening of job applicants while the public contract for services is being performed. D. If the Contractor obtains actual knowledge that a subcontractor performing work under the public contract for services knowingly employs or contracts with an illegal alien, the Contractor shall be required to: 2 (i) Notify the subcontractor and the County within three days that the Contractor has actual knowledge that the subcontractor is employing or contracting with an illegal alien; and (ii) Terminate the subcontract with the subcontractor if within three days of receiving the notice required pursuant to subparagraph (i) of the paragraph (D) the subcontractor does not stop employing or contracting with the illegal alien; except that the Contractor shall not terminate the contract with the subcontractor if during such three days the subcontractor provides information to establish that the subcontractor has not knowingly employed or contracted with an illegal alien. E. The Contractor shall comply with any reasonable request by the Department of Labor and Employment made in the course of an investigation that the department is undertaking pursuant to its authority established in C.R.S. § 8-17.5-102(5). F. If a Contractor violates these prohibitions, the County may terminate the contract for a breach of the contract. If the contract is so terminated specifically for a breach of this provision of this Contract, the Contractor shall be liable for actual and consequential damages to the County as required by law. G. The County will notify the office of the Colorado Secretary of State if Contractor violates this provision of this Contract and the County terminates the Contract for such breach. V. TERMINATION County may terminate this Agreement upon 10 days written notice to Contractor if it is deemed by County, in its sole discretion, that Contractor is not satisfactorily fulfilling her responsibilities as specified in this Agreement, or for any other reason. Upon such termination all rights of Contractor and obligations of County, except payment for accrued but unpaid fees and expenses, shall terminate immediately. VI. CONTRACTOR'S DUTIES A. Contractor shall maintain, for a minimum of 3 years, adequate financial and programmatic records for reporting to County on performance of her responsibilities hereunder. Contractor is subject to a financial audit by federal, state or county auditors or their designees. If an auditor discovers misuse of funds, Contractor shall return said ' misused funds to County. Contractor authorizes County to perform audits or to make inspections during normal business hours, upon 48 hours advance written notice to Contractor, for the purpose of evaluating performance under this Agreement. Contractor will allow access to and cooperate with authorized HHS representatives in the observation and evaluation of the program and records. Contractor shall have the right to dispute any claims of misuse of funds and seek an amicable resolution with County. B. In rendering her services hereunder, Contractor shall comply with the highest standards of professional service. Contractor shall provide appropriate supervision of her employees and subcontractors to ensure the maintenance of these high standards of client service and professionalism, the adequacy of performance of such obligation to be determined at the 3 sole discretion of County. C. Contractor shall comply with all applicable rules and laws governing the practice of law in Colorado. Contractor shall be solely responsible for ensuring proper licensing and credentialing of subcontractors and employees providing services under this Agreement. D. Contractor shall safeguard information and confidentiality of the child and the child's family, and of any adult who is the subject of Adult Protective Services, in accordance with rules of the Colorado Department of Human Services, HHS, and the Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act. E. HHS contractors are considered to be mandatory reporters for suspected child abuse and neglect and are to make those reports directly to HHS -Youth and Family Services Division - (970) 328-8840. Such mandatory reports of suspected child abuse or neglect, include, but are not limited to, abuse or neglect of employees, volunteers and clients. VII. NOTICE Any notice required under this Agreement shall be given in writing by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed as follows: COUNTY: CONTRACTOR: Eagle County Health & Human Services Alison Casias, Esq. 500 Broadway PO Box 373 Eagle, CO 81631 Dillon, CO 80435 Notice shall be deemed given three (3) days after the date of deposit in a regular depository of the United States Postal Service. VIII. ASSIGNMENT Contractor has arranged for John Collins, Attorney at Law, to be available to County as special county attorney in the event Contractor is not available to respond to the duties of special county attorney as detailed under Section 2. County accepts this assignment of duties by Contractor for the purposes of emergency coverage of special county attorney responsibilities hereunder. County requests Contractor to notify County of any and all instances where John Collins will provide emergency coverage of special county attorney responsibilities and the anticipated length of that emergency coverage. With exception of the assignment noted in the preceding paragraph, Contractor shall not assign any of her rights or duties under this Agreement to a third party without the prior written consent of County. Contractor understands that any assignment without the prior written consent of County shall be deemed cause for County to terminate this Agreement. IX. INSURANCE . At all times during the term of this Agreement, Contractor shall maintain in full force and effect the following insurance: Type of Insurance Coverage Limits Professional Liability Insurance $500,000 per occurrence Contractor shall purchase and maintain such insurance as required above and shall provide certificates of insurance in a form acceptable to County upon execution of the Agreement. X. MISCELLANEOUS A. The parties to this Agreement intend that the relationship of Contractor to County is that of independent contractor. No agent, employee or volunteer of Contractor shall be deemed to be an agent, employee or volunteer of County. B. In the event of litigation in connection with this Agreement, it is agreed that the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover all reasonable costs incurred, including attorney fees, costs, staff time and other claim related expense. C. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this Agreement shall not affect the other provisions hereof, and this Agreement shall be construed as if such invalid or unenforceable provision was omitted. D. Contractor shall indemnify and hold harmless County, its Board of Commissioners and the individual members thereof, its agencies, departments, officers, agents or employees or from any and all demands, losses, liabilities, claims or judgments, together with all costs and expenses, including but not limited to attorney fees incident thereto which may accrue against, be charged to or be recoverable from County, its Board of Commissioners and the individual members thereof, its agencies, departments, officers, agents or employees as a result of the acts or omissions of Contractor, her employees or agents, in or in part pursuant to this Agreement or arising directly or indirectly out of Contractor's exercise of her privileges or performance of her obligations under this Agreement. E. Contractor shall comply with all applicable laws, resolutions, and codes F. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, County shall have no obligations under this Agreement, nor shall any payments be made to Contractor in respect of any period after December 31st of each calendar year during the term of this Agreement, without appropriation therefore by County in accordance with a budget adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in compliance with the provisions of Article 25 Title 30 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, the Local Government Budget Law (C.R.S 29- 1-101 et seq.) and the TABOR Amendment (Colorado Constitution, Article X, Sec 20). G. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Colorado. Jurisdiction and venue for any suit, right or cause of action arising under, or in connection with this Agreement shall be exclusive in Eagle County, Colorado. H. This Agreement supersedes all previous communications, negotiations and/or agreements between the respective parties hereto, either verbal or written, and the same not expressly contained herein are hereby withdrawn and annulled. This is an integrated agreement and there are no representations about any of the subject matter hereof except as expressly set forth in this Agreement. No alterations, amendments, changes or modifications to this Agreement shall be valid unless executed by an instrument in writing signed by both parties. I. This Agreement does not, and shall not be deemed or construed to, confer upon or grant to any third party or parties any right to claim damages or to bring any suit, action or other proceeding against either Contractor or County because of any breach hereof or because of any of the terms, covenants, agreements and conditions herein. J. Contractor hereby certifies that it has read the Agreement, understands each and every term and the requirements set forth herein, and agrees to comply with the same. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the date first set forth above. COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF COLORADO BY AND THROUGH ITS BOUARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONER _--- By: ~. Sara J. Fish r, Chairman --~ ATTEST: o~ coGz B~~~~~ Teak J. Si~lionton, Clerk to the Board of y,_' .County Commissioners _ ~J~1 . I ~~.1~1/ 1 L CONTRACTOR: By: ~ Alison C sia G:/Bryan/contracts/Casias